July 19, 2024

Jide Aje is a Nigerian-born artist based in Detroit who describes his work as “abstract collages” that “have a firm rooting in [his] ancestral culture which is Yoruba.”[1] He holds a Fine Art degree in painting from the University of Ife in Ife-Ife, Nigeria, where he honed his skills with figurative art and traditional color palettes. After working as a graphic designer in advertising, he moved to Detroit to pursue industrial and automotive design. Thereafter he embraced abstract art both in theory and in practice, crediting further education and exposure as well as the city’s support system for African American artists.[2]

Aje primarily works in paint, however this linocut print was created for the On Press: Prints for Non-Profits initiative facilitated by Detroit’s Signal-Return Press; proceeds from Aje’s edition of 149 prints benefit the local Clark Street Coalition.[3] To create a linocut—a type of block print—an image is hand-carved into linoleum which is then inked and pressed onto paper or fabric. This process is well-suited to interests in layering, repetition, and replication, and it seems Aje’s cacophonous Untitled showcases such play. This vibrant print depicts a multitude of marks, shapes, and patterns, including what look to be arrows, four-petaled blossoms, five- and six-pointed stars, triangles, exes, zigzags, decorated hexagons, stripes, stitches, and grids. There appear to be at least two layers of ink atop white paper—an azure color and a chartreuse color—and it seems multiple blocks were puzzled together to create a larger collage effect from smaller, interlocking pieces. In the lower-right quadrant, for instance, we can see five bold, chartreuse horizontal lines above three swooping arcs; the same combination appears in azure as its vertical opposite in the same quadrant, suggesting the corner block was rotated 180 degrees between runs. Not every quadrant reveals the same adjustment, and some blocks appear to be smaller than others, inviting an examination of hidden motifs and orientations. The title of this work suggests a certain openness to interpretation; the artist has said he reserves the Untitled banner for experimental works with no preconceived theme, for artistic inquiries that attempt to “solve some imaginary problem.”[4]

Though this print may or may not carry specific or thematic significance for Aje, his formal choices are often informed by Yoruba iconography and symbols he sees on “old African artifacts;”[5] the artist has said that he “[works] from the viewpoint that culture is dynamic…[he] rework[s] old symbols, colors and textures to fit a modern context.”[6] In one interview, Aje emphasized Yoruba cultural significance of the number sixteen, mentioning that “elements” of that number—one may see “sixteen marks of a particular sort”—often permeate his art.[7] Such a proclivity for repetition is reflected in works like Untitled, anchoring the print within Aje’s wider oeuvre and within the scope of his artistic concerns. According to Aje, “Paintings are kind of like life…everything is built in layers…everything piles on top;”[8] this print exemplifies the same ethos, begging the viewer to look more closely.

Aje continues his innovative art practice out of his studio in Hamtramck; he has exhibited nationally and is an active member of several local arts and cultural organizations.[9]

 

Written by Sarah Teppen

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